mccaskey



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

J. L. .MGCASKEY- ELECTRIG PROGRAM CLOCK. No. 531,002. Patented Deo. 18,1894.A

(No Model.) Y 2 Sheets-Sheet 2,

' J. L. MGOASKEY.

ELECTRIC PROGRAM CLOCK.

No. 531,002. Patented 1190. 18,1894.

WMM/190Mo amd/wm mz Nnnms Farms PHoTLITNo.. .vAsHmoToN, g c.

UNITED STATES PATENT GEFICE.

JOHN L. MCCASKEY, OF VVAYNESBOROUGH, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO FREDERICK FRIOK.

ELECTRIC PROGRAM-CLOCK.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 531,002, dated December 18, 1894.

Application filed September 18,1893. Serial No. 485,410. (No model.)

To all whom t may concern.-

Be it known that I, JOHN L. McCAsKEY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Waynesborough, in the county of Franklin,

State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Electric Program-Clocks, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

1o This invention has relation to electric program clocks and it consists in certain improvements upon the inventions disclosed in prior patents granted to me to witz-No. 428,854, May 27, 1890, and No. 468,843, November 24,

l5 1891, to which reference can be had for a more particular description of parts herein shown and not particularly described.

The objects and the advantages of the invention will be set forth in the following dezo scriptionv and the novel features thereof will be particularly pointed out in the claims.

Referring to the drawings Figure 1 is a front elevation with parts in section of a program clock constructed in accordance with z5 my invention and connected to an automatic calendar switch and to a mechanism for di recting an electric current to any one set of alarm devices, or to two or more of a greater or less number employed in connection with 3o the clock. Fig. 2 is a rear elevation of the calendar switch. Fig. 3 is a section o n the line 3-3 of Fig. 1,Y of the calendar switch.

- Fig. 4 is a rear elevation of the dial of the clock. Fig. 5 is a section of the outer Vportion of the dial including the annuli thereof. Fig. 6 is a vertical section of the central portion of the dial and of the hour and minute hands and their spindle. Fig. 7 is an enlarged perspective of the free end of the hour hand.

4a Fig. 8 is a side elevation of one of the spring contacts modified to give a plurality of impulses, the insulation being in vertical section. Fig. 9 is an enlarged vertical sectional view of the annuli, the insulatory base of the same and of the removable contacts, and Fig. 10 is a plan and side elevation of adjustable nodes with a portion of the dial shown in section.

Like letters of reference indicate like parts 5o throughout the several views.

A represents the dial of a clock and in my present invention l provideitwith an annular liange A on which a friction roller B at the extreme end ofthe minute hand B may travel thereby preserving the minute hand in a contin nous and regular horizontal plane whereby its contact point B2 see Fig. 5 will assuredly make connection with the nodes O one of which is located at each five minute point on the dial. These nodes are of peculiar and 6o novel construction. Each consists of a wire coiled vertically as at C Fig. l0 between its ends one of which projects horizontally to contact with the point B2 of the minute hand and the other of which projects as at C2 to 65 increase the surface of contact with the dial A. A screw G3 is threaded into the dial and forms a pintle on which the node may be rotated. N ow by entering the screw for a greater or less distance into the base the coiled body 7o portion of the node presses with greater or less friction against the base and the head of the screw so that the node will be sufficiently rigid to resist turning by the contact of the point B2 on the minute hand' and to remain 75 in any adjusted position of the node. As shown by dotted lines in Fig. l0 the node may be swung out of the path of the contact point of the minute hand when it is desired so that no alarm will be sounded through the opera- 8o tion of the minute hand.

A reference to Fig. 6 will show that the minute hand B and hour hand D are peculiarly mounted and that each is provided with a counterbalancing extension B3 and D re- 85 spectively. The hand arbor or shaft E of the clock Works is provided with a collar E above which it is finished in aleft hand screw thread E2. A base plate D2 is mounted upon the thread E2 and the hourhand D is also adapted 9o to t the thread and is secured to the base plate by screws D3 or otherwise While the minute hand B is mounted on the upper squared end B4 of its spindle which passes through the hour hand arbor or shaft and is secured thereon by a nut B5 as shown.

It is essential for insuring positive contacts and therefore regularity and proper timing of the alarms that the hour and minute hands be maintained parallel with each other and roo ll the ce of the dial and that the movement of either hand and thelagging of the same when passing from a vertical to a hori- Zontal position be avoided. This last action is more liable to occur when devices are applied to the hands at their free ends and I therefore have not only provided the counterbalancing extensions but have applied to the hour arbor or shaft a collar E5 which in this Io instance is a part of the calendar cam F and beneath this collar a spring F bears with a pressure varied by means of a screw F2 which bears upon a portion of the frame-work of the clock work G.

H is a bracket secured to or formed as a part of a casting A which constitutes the main and fundamental part of the dial. The hand arbor of the clock work is insulated from the bracket H by the block H2 of insulating material secured thereto so that the electrical current is conducted in one direction from the hands through the clock work while its conduction in theopposite direction isthrough a system of insulated annuli hereinafter described.

The casting A has an outer annulus bearing the figures of the dial and this is rabbeted or grooved as at A2, Fig. 5, and divergent spokes or arms A3 connect this annulus with an inner ring A4 a central removable disk A5 forming the central face portion of the dial. Between the ring or annulus A1 and the edge of the central disk A5 is a ring A0 of insulating material. The entire casting A is mounted upon the frame-Work of the clock-Work by means of screws passing through the perforated lugs A7 of the casting with insulating material placed between the parts whereby the dial is insulated from the clock-work.

The portion A0 of the dial is of insulating material and while it may be of any suitable substance still rubber by reason of its ease of formation is preferable, but it also possesses the characteristics of readily changing its shape and condition in consequence of changes in the temperature of the surrounding atmosphere so that I have been forced to provide some means for retaining it in position and shape after it has been made to form 5o a portion of the dial. Various forms of installing the rubber portion of the dial may be adopted which although differing from those shown and described herein will secure the desired results and in this regard I do not limit the invention to the exact form of con` struction illustrated. The rabbet or groove A2 of the castirg A receives one edge of the rubber ring or annulus A6 While its opposite edge rests upon the ring A4 of the casting 6o and is rabbeted to receive and support the central disk A5 all as clearly shown in Fig. 5. By this means the opposite edges of the rubber are held firmly against warping and contortion and in a common horizontal plane with the rest of the dial. Within the rubber A0 there are formed a series of concentric` grooves A8 see Fig. 9 in which are seated metallic annuli A0. The rubber portion A0 is also provided with a continuous series of radial slits A10. These may be arranged to agree with the minute spaces of the dial.

I, Figs. 1, 5 and 9, represents removable nodes which can be inserted in the slits A10 and in contact with the annuli so as to produce an alarm at a desired moment when properly arranged and in co-operative electrical connection with the remaining devices employed.

The hour hand D is provided at its free end with a supporting roller D4, see Fig. 7, and with a series of contacts D5 each of which consists of a wire formed into a coiled spring D6 between its ends terminating at one end in a form to be connectedwith a carrierand at the other end to form one or more contact points. These formations of the contact may be varied and still preserve the intended function. In this instance the connecting end D7 is simply bent at a right angle so that it may be inserted in a plate perforated to receive the same which constitutes the carrier DB and this plate may be secured in any suitable manner to the free end of the hour hand. The contact end of the device may be a simple bend of the wire as shown in Fig. 7 at D0 or the end of the wire may be formed into two or more points D0X and provided with a shoe D10 of insulating material whereby as the contact makes electrical connection a plurality of impulses will be produced, the shoe acting to render the passage of the contact over an. electrical conductor or node smooth and easy. It is apparent that without a shoe of some character the points D0X would catch upon a node and interferewith the operation of the device.

lVhen a series of contacts D5 are employed it is advantageous to provide some means for regulating the pressure of all of the series and to permit of backward rotation of the hands to which lthey are applied so that the contacts can pass in either direction over the nodes without deformation or other injury of the contacts. Aslight upward bendingof the extreme end of the free end of the contactD5 and a slight rounding of the ends of the shoe D10 also tends to obviate injury of the contacts by the backward movement of a hand to which they are applied. The means which I have provided to regulate the pressure and position of the contacts consists of a bar J suspended from the hour hand D by screws J so that by turning said screws the bar may be raised or depressed with relation to the hour hand and as the contacts D5 rest at their free ends upon said bar they will be simultaneously adjusted as to height above the nodes A9.

The annuli project at desired points through the rubber A5 in a form suitable for electri- IOO IIO

IZO

cally connecting the same with other portions of the apparatus. These connections are upon the rear of the dial as shown at K, Fig. 4. Insulatcd conductors k extend from the annuli to a bar K of insulating material secured to the castingA in any suitable manner. From thence the conductors extend in regular order to the four binding posts K2, of the calendar switch of the apparatus.

There is connected with the clock work a calendar cam F which may be of any well known construction mounted on the hour hand arbor so as to rotate once in twelve hours. A lever L is pivoted to the clock-work frame and extends into the path of the cam.

A rod L connects the lever with a bar L2 which carries the pawl L3 and a detentL4. The bar L2 reciprocates in boxes L5, secured to the baso piece L6 of the switch. A detent pawl L7 may also be used to operate in connection with the ratchet L8 of the switch. rlhis ratchet has fourteen teeth one for each day of the week and for each noon-day, or noon hour of each day so that when the hour hand points to 12 oclock it will operate the calendar switch ratchet one tooth, changing the switch at noon and at midnight or other desired time. By this means a system of alarms may be made to accord with morning and afternoon programs diiering from each other and if desired programs of each morning and of each afternoon differing on succeeding days ofthe week and the programs of successive weeks being automatically repeated without variation while at the same time each or all can be readily changed at pleasure. A spring or weight connected to the bar L2 at its lower end provides sucient power to operate the ratchet.

Upon the rear of the base plate L6 there are secured a series of fourteen plates M of conducting material representing the seven days and seven nights of the Week and conductors M are extended from the annuli through the binding posts K2 to these plates. The conductor from vthe tirst binding post at the right of Fig. 2 represents Saturday and terminates at and is connected with one of the lower plates of the circular series and the same is the case with the conductor from the third postwhichrepresentsSunday. Theconductor from the second post which represents the seven nights of the week is connected with one of the plates asshown and from thence is extended to connect with every other plate of the series, while the same connections in character are made with the conductor from the last binding post representing tive school days, it however being connected with plates not touched by the conductor from the secondpost. The shaft of the ratchet L8 is provided with 'an arm N carrying a contact N which during the rotation of the ratchet sweeps over every plate of the series. A single conductor O extends'from the calendar switch being electricallyconnected with the ratchet and its contact. The ratchet L8 rotates in a metal bushing inserted in the rubber or other non-conducting material of which the base L6 is made. A coiled spring Z and a washerl encircle the spindle ot' the ratchet and are retained against movement in one direction by the passage of the arm Nthrough the spindle. This insures metallic connection and permits the ratchet to be raised or drawn bodily away from the face ot thebase plate so as to change the connection of the operating pawl L3 with the ratchet from one tooth to another without operating the bar L2. By this means the commencement of the series of programs may be changed from one day to another in the week as may be desirable. Thecircumstancesrenderingsuch a change of advantage might be the occurrence of a holiday or an unexpected interruption of business for a day or a half day `whereby the calendar and program would after suitable change of the ratchet be repeated by the apparatus.

The conductor O with the battery O2 completes the circuit for the devices thus far described. The conductor O connects with the dial casting, as shown in Fig. 1, while the dial casting and the conductorsc with their connections are insulated from the dial, the former also being insulated from the clock frame-work. The circuit being open it will be noticed that a closure of the same will occur only when the contact points of the hands make connection with one of the several nodes employed.

The conductor O is connected with one spool of an electro-magnet P and the cond uctor O with the other spool thereof. The armature P is connected with a detent P2 which operates in connection with a notched disk P3 forming a part of a spring motor indicated by the dotted lines in the lower part of Fig. 1. Upon the frame P4 of the motor there is supported a disk P5 ot insulating material having a series of contacts P6 over which a movable contact Q carried by an arm Q mounted in thespindle Q2 of the motor travels when the detent P2 is raised by the attraction of the armature P by the magnet P. Such attraction will occur when the circuit is closed by the contact of the points on the hour and minute hands with their respective nodes. As the contact Q traverses the seriesof contacts PG an alarm willbe sounded by the bell R in the circuit R to battery R2 and to the frame work of the motor, the circuit being completed by one of a series of conductors R3 extending from each of the contacts P6 to an alarm arranged in a series of rooms or apartments in a building where the apparatus is used. The contact Q will travel over as many of the contacts Pas the number of notches in the disk P3 will permit. A complete revolution ofthe disk may carry the contact over all or any portion of the contacts PG.

What I claim isn 1. A node made in coil spring form and IOO mounted upon a screw for determining the` pressure at the point of surface contact, substantially as specified.

3. The combination with a clock hand having a contact, of a series of nodes each rotatably mounted upon and compressible by a screw, seated in a dial, substantially as speci-v for rotating the spindle of the calendar switch,

fied.

4. The combination with a clock hand and with a series of contacts carried thereby, of an adjustable bar for supporting the free ends of said contacts, substantially as specified.

5. The combination with a clock hand, of a series of spring contacts, a support for the same, and an adjustably connected bar extending beneath the contacts and connected to the hand, substantially as specified.

6. A contact formed at one end for connection with a carrier and provided with a spring coil at an intermediate portion and terminating with a slight upwardly bent contact point, substantially as specified.

7. A dial comprising an exterior annulus, an interior disk, and an interposed rabbeted annulus or ring of non-conducting material,sub stantially as specified.

8. Adial provided with a grooved annulus and with an insulating annulus having its edge seated in the groove of the dial, substantially as specified.

9. A hand provided with a counterbalancing extension and with an attaching plate secured to the hand, both being screw-threaded for connection with an arbor, substantially as specified.

10. An insulating annulus provided with radial slits and concentric grooves, substantially as specified.

11. An insulating annulus provided with concentric grooves, metallic annuli within saidgrooves, and nodes adapted to tit the an nuli, substantially as specified.

12. A node removably combined with an annulus and with an insulating annulus having radial slits for receiving nodes, substantially as specified.

13. The combination with the arbor having a shoulder, of a spring bearing against said shoulder, and means for regulating the tension of the spring, substantially as specified.

14. The combination with a hand carrying a contact, of an arbor carrying the hand, a spring bearing against the arbor and means passed through said spring for adjusting the same, substantially as specified.

15. The combination witha dial,of a hand carrying a contact and a roller, of an arbor carrying a hand and a spring mounted to act in the direction of the length of the arbor, and means for regulating its pressure upon the arbor, substantially as specified.

' 16. A dial carrying an insulating annulus, a conducting annulus carried by the dial, and an insulating bar for the connection ot' conductors with the conducting annulus, substantially as specified.

17. A dial provided with an insulating annulus having a series of conducting annuli, conductors extending from each of said annuli to an insulating bar carried by the dial, an hour hand provided with a series of contacts and removable nodes arranged upon the annuli, and means controlled by the clock substantially as specified.

18. In a program clock, a calendar switch, the ratchet of which is provided with asingle movable contact and a series of conducting plates in the path of said contact and insulated from each other and having suitable electrical connections and means controlled by the clock for rotating the spindle of the calendar switch, substantially as specified.

19. In a program clock, a calendar switch having a portion mounted yieldingly in the line of the axis of the spindle and means controlled by the clock for rotating the spindle of the calendar switch, substantially as specified.

20. In acalendarswitch,a ratchet mounted yieldingly and carrying a contact and means controlled by the clock for rotating the spindle of the calendar switch, substantially as specified.

21. A calendar switch comprising a yieldingly-mounted ratchet, means for operating the same, a series of plates and electrical connection between the ratchet and the plates, substantially as specitied.

22. The combination with a program clock, of a series of alarms, a calendar switch, an electrically-operated detent and a mechanically operated contact, substantially as specitied.

23. Amotor the spindleof which is provided with a contact-carrying arm, a series of contacts insulated from the motor and its spindle, an automaticallyoperated alarmselecting device, an alarm in circuit with the contact and motor, and a detent for controlling the operation of the motor, substantially as specified.

24. The combination with a clock the hands of which are provided with contacts and the dial of which is provided with insulated annuli, ot an electrical calendar switch, an alarm-selecting mechanism, and an electrical device for releasing said alarm-selecting mechanism, substantially as specied.

25. The combination with a check having insulated annuli and contact-bearing hands, of an electrically-connected calendar` switch and an alarm-selecting device, substantially as specified.

26. The combination with a dial having concentric grooves and intersecting radial slits, of annuli in the grooves, and nodes re- IOO IIO

movably fitted in the slits of the annuli and In testimony Whereoflax my signature in held therein by friotional engagement, subpresence of two Witnesses. stentially as speoitied.

27. The combination with a, dial having JOHN L. MCCASKEY. 5` concentric grooves and intersecting radial slits, of annuli in the grooves, and remov- Witnesses: able nodes on the annuli and seated in the JNO. E. CANNAMY,

slits', substantially as specified. H. L. NISSLEY. 

